#tree nerd

[maeve-an-bhanchainti]

so my next door neighbor to the left decided to spray a honey locust sapling on MY side of the fence with weed killer. I loved that tree. I was so excited for it to get big. I ended up having a long talk with the dude about how the next time he sprays along the fence (he ends up killing everything on our side of it because he doesn't know what he's doing and doesn't care), to just let me know and I would handle it.

anyway I've collected some of the thorns off the dead branches that are left to use for art.

[wicked-d00d]

Mount Lofty Botanic Garden

https://www.facebook.com/safromabove/

https://www.instagram.com/safromabove/

[mercurygray]

Tree Nerd In Training

So, in case you don’t know, I work at an Arboretum. If you’ve never been to one, you are missing out. An Arboretum is a tree museum, and they are magical, fabulous places -- my Arboretum has specimens from over 40 different countries. We have our living collections all over a large outdoor campus, as well as an herbarium with dried specimens dating back at least a hundred years. Living collections and herbarium collections help scientists learn about where certain trees used to grow and what conditions they need to grow in our present climate conditions. They help us breed new trees and plants with specific traits, like drought tolerance or disease resistance.

We also collect trees to preserve species diversity. 

There is a tree, native to Australia, called the Wollemi Pine. These trees are so rare that there are less than 100 of them growing in the wild and the exact location where they grow is a kind of closely guarded national secret. We have a  cultivated specimen here at the Arboretum. And today I got to help transport it across a parking lot. I feel like I just met a rockstar.

[golookoutside-blog]

A festival celebrating trees? I wish I had known about this earlier this year. Definitely adding this to my list of things to do.

[golookoutside-blog]

I'm officially certified to work on public trees in the county I live in. Just one step closer to being the Lorax.

[golookoutside-blog]

Learning about tree diseases, fungi, and parasites tonight. So excited!

[golookoutside-blog]

You guys, I love trees so much.

[golookoutside-blog]

I had my first Tree Stewards class this evening. I'm coming home with 4 new field guides for identifying trees. So happy!